EmilyPie

Might also be worth trying to rally other parents so there is some coordinated group pressure. And possibly a call to the local press - or telling the school that you intend to do this - might provoke the head into action. Good luck!

I don't know whether this would work, and you may decide you don't want to go down this road, but what about bringing your boy in with you on the first wake up. You could talk to him about it, saying you know he's feeling anxious at the moment so for a little while when he wakes up he can come in with you and then when he's feeling better he can go back to sleeping all night in his own bed like a big boy. He might then start feeling more secure and the night waking might resolve itself so he doesn't come in, or not until it is nearly morning. If not you could then make a thing of moving them both into their own room/s once your daughter is past the 6m stage. If you didn't want him actually in your bad you could maybe put a mattress in your room for him. Obviously it isn't the ideal but it might give everyone a bit of sleep and time to regroup. My experience has also been that it is possible to change these things, so he wouldn't have to be in with you forever, but it is obviously hard and much easier to do if you are at least getting some sleep. I really really feel for you all and hope that whatever you decide to do you find something that works soon.

We have to do stealth naps. A trip in the buggy or car to the 'shops', generally with some kind of snack to concentrate on so he doesn't get distracted too much by big lorries, buses, dogs etc. He'll drop off about 2/3 of the time which is enough to stave off the really bad behaviour most of the time. Buggy is better with a baby as you'll otherwise have the prob of trying to get a baby & sleeping toddler in from the car. Good luck!

I'm having a similar thing with my 2 1/2 year old. He will often warm up when it is a situation where he's spending a few hours or more with someone, and will sometimes decide to be super chatty with random people, normally when I need to have an actual conversation with that person about, for instance, why we shouldn't have to pay for additional building work caused by their cock ups - grrr. This makes me wonder whether partly it is the expectation to talk/say hello etc when other people want him to. So maybe a combination of wanting a bit more power and suddenly being in the spotlight? Anyway, we have agreed that when he doesn't want to say hello to someone he can wave instead. I have to remind him each time but is a compromise he seems happy with and which makes my life a bit easier too. maybe worth a try?

Glad you had a good day and that you have a plan in place. All sounds very positive. Just a thought on the jealousy thing. A couple of people I know with 2 have found that after a great start jealousy has kicked in later as n2 has become more alert/mobile and therefore more able to make their presence felt. Don't know if this is a factor in this case but is something I shall be watching for with trepidation in my 2! Good luck! Hope this phase passes soon.

Hilly fields park is really nice. Good playground and nice cafe. Turn right after lewisham college on lewisham way.

If it helps at all I was a hugely fussy eater for most of my childhood, with possibly an even smaller range of foods than your daughter, and will now eat almost anything and really enjoy cooking and eating, so it is not necessarily a forever thing. I try and remember this when my son turns his nose up at what I've made, although didn't stop me getting in a huff this evening when he declared that he no longer liked cheese or chicken or bread. Had to go and sit in another room so as not to strangle him!

I also like the chapter on feeding babies and small children in nigella's how to eat. Some good ideas that aren't too challenging.

The upset airs room at the talbot in Brockley is nice too, although might be a bit far for you.

Oh I'd forgotten about that place. It's lovely, total bargain!

Busy as bees near honor oak does half days. We're just about to start our 2yo there and it has spaces and seems very nice.

Thanks buggie, that's really helpful.

Thanks everyone, that's really helpful and reassuring. I love him falling asleep on me but because my first was such a poor sleeper I'm keen to avoid the months and months of frequent night waking. Sounds like I have a bit of time yet though and will try not to get too hung up on it. Definitely need to work on sleep queues though. He isn't keen on a dummy sadly and my attempts to put him down so far tend to be accompanied by my 2yo shouting 'look mummy he's awake' or shouting that he wants to come with me from the other side of the door. Probably not that soothing! Will start a bit of a rough sleep schedule and some shush patting I reckon and see how things go.

What about the sanctuary in Coventry garden. A bit pricey but you can just laze around all day, read a magazine or book, have a swim, have a snooze. It is cheaper if you go during the week I think and you don't have to have any treatments etc if you don't want.

I know this is supposed to be the mythical key to great sleep habits but I've never been able to do it. My first boy would just cry himself more and more awake, even from a state of lovely, calm, full tummy sleepiness. My second seems to be similar. He is only 9 weeks and leaving him like this seems mean, as well as counterproductive. How is this supposed to work? Is crying just part of the process or did your little ones just drift off quietly with smiles on their faces? Am I missing something? All advice welcome. Thank you.

I had a few funny looks today. Nothing negative, just a room full of old geezers in the doctor's waiting room all trying to look relaxed about it without copping an eyeful of nipple. Felt quite sorry for them! Never had any negative comments though, and have fed in plenty of public places. Although never a fried chicken shop. Impressed!

Ps good luck! Sounds very exhausting for everyone.

You probably have already thought of this but I read a great tip on here about night time toilet training which was to make the bed up in layers, eg waterproof sheet, bed sheet, waterproof sheet, bed sheet. That way you just have to take off the first layer in case of accidents. Obviously won't deal with the main issue but might help with coping with any night time wetting. And thanks to the genius forum member who suggested it!

Brilliant, thanks. I'll check it out.

Our cleaner is very nice. We trust her and think she does a good job. Pm me if you want more details.

We need to take the new baby and our 2yo to visit my MIL in Bradford. However, we can't face the 6 hour plus drive followed by all 4 of us trying to sleep on an air mattress in the living room of her tiny 1 bed bungalow. So we have hatched a cunning plan: fast train to York, stay in self catering there and drive over to see her/take her out for an afternoon in York. All of the places I've seen on the internet so far seem quite expensive and not particularly child friendly. Does anyone have any recommendations? It doesn't have to be central York as we'll have to hire a car anyway, but it will need to have travel cots available as we'll be coming by train. Ideally all on one level too in case we want to bring my mother in law there to visit as she can't really manage stairs, but that's not a deal breaker. Big thanks in advance.

Our cleaner does ironing for us. I'm always happy with it and I know she'd like more work. Pm me your details if you're interested (name, number, location)and I'll get her to call you.

This sounds like an interesting project. I'd be interested in cake and chat if it was on a thurs or fri and I could bring my baby.

We did sleep training in the end after over a year of horrendous sleep. At his worst he was waking up every half an hour. I would go into work exhausted and really not capable of doing my job so I completely empathise. It worked for us and he now sleeps well. I'm not suggesting you should or shouldn't use that approach as different things work for different people. However I did learn a few things which might be helpful. The first was that although I too wanted to give my lo what he wanted during the night and felt that I would be being cruel sleep training him in fact what he really needed was sleep and once he started getting more sleep he was much happier and calmer during the day. He also benefitted from me getting sleep as I was able to be a more energised and engaged parent rather than a ranting zombie. I also found that he really liked knowing that there was a really predictable routine and structure. He knew what the rules were, he knew what was coming next and things didn't change unexpectedly. We developed a really strong bedtime routine, and some morning rituals like saying hello to the day eyc, which seem to really help anchor him. The experience has helped me realise that for small kids the world is quite unfathomable and unpredictable, so if I can put some rules and structures in place that is, I think, reassuring. It meant I realised how important being consistent was, which I hadn't always in the past, and also that I shifted my perspective from seeing sleep training as putting my needs over his and instead saw it as helping him too. Anyway, hope that is Helpful and not just annoying. I know the hell that is sleep deprivation so I really feel for you and hope it gets better soon!

Gently elephant in Brockley is good for boys shoes. My 2 yo has a nice pair of red shoes from there.